


The Winter of Our Youth

by why_didnt_i_get_any_soup



Series: The Winter of Our Youth [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (the medical kind), Alcohol, Bodily Fluids, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Drugs, Embarrassment, Explicit Sexual Content, Food, Gay Sex, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mental Health Issues, Oral Sex, Permanent Injury, Physical Disability, Physical Therapy, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-20 14:00:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8251685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup/pseuds/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup
Summary: After Rhodey is shot out of the sky, Tony takes care of him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I want you all to know that I've basically been sitting on this since May (right after I saw the movie opening weekend) and I just??? I don't know. Things have been slow moving but here it is!

Rhodey slumped into a seat next to Tony, unsnapping the exoskeletal leg braces, as he read the letter from Steve out loud. Tony was obviously pretty peeved about how  _ gracious _ Rogers was, even after everything. Rhodey just kind of stared at the burner phone in disbelief, wanting to laugh, all the while ignoring the twinging in his hips and back. The doctors had told him that was probably going to be permanent so he was just going to have to get used to it.

Tony was just about to pick up the burner when his office phone rang. Of course, it was Ross. And neither Rhodey nor Tony were surprised when he reported the breach in the prison security and the absence of prisoners.

“I’m on it, Ross.” was all Tony said before hanging up on the nonplussed Secretary.

“What are we going to do about those boys?” Rhodey asked, smirking a little.

“We have to find a way to bring them back into the fold.” Tony said, much more seriously that Rhodey was expecting. The smile slipped off his face. “I need to get to work. You’re welcome to stay here, Rhodey. Or you can go home.” He shrugged and took off towards the basement workshop. Just before he was out the door, he stopped and turned. “Actually, you should stay here.” Then he was gone.

Rhodey wasn’t sure what to do. He could walk, but not well. He supposed he could head to the common area and watch tv until he passed out. So he did.

A few hours later, Tony roused Rhodey from a rather groggy sleep; the tv was still on. Tony was hovering over him, a chair next to him. It was clearly a wheelchair but there were no wheels, it was just hovering. It was sleek and had display screens on either armrest.

Rhodey tried to sit up but found it too difficult and almost fell off the couch. Tony was there in a flash to catch him and help him sit up.

“Did you just make that?”

“Yeah.” Tony shrugged. “Give it a try.”

“All right.” Rhodey acquiesced, too tired to argue. He was strong enough to maneuver into the chair, but not much beyond that. “It’s pretty comfortable.”

“It reclines too! And you can adjust the firmness in several different areas. Plus heating and cooling, of course. And Friday is built in too, so it’ll be really easy to get into contact with me or anyone else. If there’s anything I neglected to add, that you need, I can easily add it.”

“Okay. Thanks, Tony.” he smiled weakly and Tony hardly made eye contact with him, awkward.

“I’ve got to get back to work. I wanted to get that to you first. But you can sleep in it and everything or just relax, whatever.”

“What am I even supposed to do?” Rhodey called to Tony’s retreating back.

Tony shrugged as was walking away. “You’re on medical leave. Take a break. Sleep, eat? I don’t know anything about vacation!”

“You’re damn right about that!” Rhodey called after him but Tony was already gone.

…

Usually, either Rhodey or Pepper had to be the one to drag Tony’s non-sleeping ass out of the lab to make sure he got at least a few hours of sleep. But Pepper was gone and he couldn’t really bring himself to get up, having spent most of the night on the couch. It turned out it didn’t really matter anyway; Tony was cooking breakfast in the kitchen—bacon by the smell of it—and whistling to himself. Somehow, he seemed to be in a good mood.

“What’s gotten into you?” Rhodey croaked from the couch, finally able to sit up by himself after almost 15 hours of sleep. Honestly, he was getting too old for Tony’s shit but he didn’t see anyone else stepping up to the plate. He started to shift himself into the chair Tony had made for him.

“Nothing. I’m just ready to face the day!” Even his voice was uncharacteristically chipper and Rhodey was suspicious.

It had taken Rhodey only a few seconds to work out all the controls Tony had built in to the arm rests and he was easily speeding across the space over to the kitchen to try and grab some of the bacon. Honestly, Rhodey could have died at how domestic it was when Tony slapped his hand away when he reached for a piece off the paper towels on the plate next to the stove.

“I can’t believe you just smacked my hand.”

“I can’t believe you just tried to steal a piece of my bacon.”

“Oh, so now you’re into  _ torture _ , eh Stank?”

“Hey now! I’m wounded by your words. You can wait until it’s all done.”

“You cooking anything else, Stark?”

“Eggs, for protein. Oh. And go over to the table. I whipped up a little something last night. Should help with the pain.”

“Thanks, man.” Rhodey went over to find one single, blue capsule on the table next to a crystal clear glass of water. “This doesn’t happen to be FDA approved, does it?” He quipped though Tony just grimaced. It was probably too soon to be evoking government accountability.

“Just trust me, Rhodes?” Tony said, instead.

Rhodey didn’t argue, just took the pill with the water and waited for the food.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” Rhodey asked after they had been eating for a few minutes in silence.

“Physical therapy, plotting. That sort of thing.”

“Tony, they don’t have me scheduled for another PT session until Wednesday.”

“You’re not seeing those doctors anymore. I’m going to take care of you now.”

Something warm and heavy settled in Rhodey’s stomach at those words; it made him excited and nervous. He knew Tony just meant when it came to the therapy but it...did things to him to hear that Tony wanted to  _ take care of him _ .

“What do you know about physical therapy?” Rhodey questioned, trying to sound skeptical and get Tony riled up a little.

Tony just fixed him with a glare. “I learned thermonuclear astrophysics overnight, before, you know.” He shrugged. “It took me about six hours this morning. I have a whole regimen worked out for you. Some of it even includes swimming.” He waggled his eyebrows at that last bit.

“Oh lord.”

...

“Tony,” Rhodey panted out, “I’m exhausted and my back is killing me. I’ve got to take a break.” He was laying underneath Tony who was facilitating a rotary movement with Rhodey’s left leg.

“Come on, man. You can do this!” Tony said, not stopping.

“No. I'm exhausted, I need pain medicine, and you're not helping at this point. Just let me go to bed.”

Tony sighed but conceded, gently lowering Rhodey’s leg back to the mat he was laying on. The chair Tony had made was in low power mode in the corner of the room, waiting for a voice command. Cleverly, Tony named it CHAiR. It was some ridiculous acronym, just like all of his other gadgets but Rhodey couldn't give less of a shit what it stood for. All he wanted was some sleep.

“CHAiR, come over here, please.” Tony called to it, and the pleasantry didn't escape Rhodey’s attention. The chair immediately powered back up and made its way over to Tony. “Motion stabilization, on.” He commanded and the chair sounded like it was about to explode from effort. In reality, it was putting all of its energy into staying still while Tony hoisted Rhodey, on shaky legs, up from the floor and set him into the chair.

“I think you need a shower first.” Tony said after deactivating the motion stabilization.

Shame immediately overcame Rhodey and he was thankful his dark skin hid his blush. He wasn't meeting Tony’s eyes so of course Tony would know anyway; they'd been best friends for decades so it was hardly a surprise they knew each other’s tells.

“I'll be okay.” Rhodey tried to protest. But Tony was already on the defensive.

“Rhodes, you sweated through your clothes and left a person-shaped puddle on the mat!” He pointed and Rhodey looked. It was true. There was definitely at least an approximate Rhodey shape on the mat. “At least let me help you change?”

Rhodey heaved out a sigh, resigning himself to Tony’s close monitoring and micromanaging. It had been three days of this intense regimen and it was too much. Tony was coming at the therapy from the point of view of someone  _ not _ disabled, not taking into account fatigue or necessary resting periods, despite claiming he had become an expert overnight. He was trying to rush them through the PT to get to the other side as fast as possible and that wasn't the way these types of injuries worked. Rhodey was in desperate need of some pain medicine, not really wanting to try this third pill Tony had created that would prevent him from taking actually-effective Vicodin.

“Get me some  _ real _ medicine,” Rhodey growled the word “real,” “and you can help me change. Just my shirt and shorts.”

“Rhodey, if it got through your shorts then your underwear has to be soaking.”

That was really not the type of sentence Rhodey needed to hear coming from Tony; he didn't even need to know that Tony could possibly even be thinking about Rhodey’s underwear. But, he didn't argue with Tony. He was just so uncomfortable and tired and in pain. He wanted to be dry and conched out within a second of his head hitting the pillow on that big luxurious bed in the room Tony had put him up in, right down the hall from Tony’s own room.

“Tony, I just want to sleep. Bring me some Vicodin and you can help me change, okay? And I will be checking the pills. So, don't think you can trick me, Stark!” He called as Tony was already walking away, towards the kitchen where they kept all the regular medicine as well as Rhodey’s newly (Tony) prescribed medicines. He heard a faint “yeah, yeah” when he started to move the controls on the chair to follow behind Tony.

In the bedroom, Tony helped Rhodey out of the chair once they had gathered the new set of clothes. He told Rhodey to hold onto the sturdy dresser while Tony pulled off his shorts and underwear as quickly and painlessly as possible. Rhodey had his eyes closed, his back to Tony, but he was mortified. He wasn't ashamed of his body, far from it, even with his brand new bright pink scars, but he hated Tony seeing him in this weak state, far from anything possibly desirable. When he was in his new underwear and shorts, Tony handed over the new shirt and told Rhodey to do it himself while Tony held him at the hips to keep him upright. He couldn't deny that he really liked the feel of Tony’s hands on him, steady as Rhodey tried not to shake while pulling on the clean shirt. Then, with Tony mostly holding Rhodey up, he led Rhodey to the bed with a firm hand at the small of Rhodey’s back, just in case. He sat him down on the edge of the bed and helped him hoist his legs up. The rest was up to Rhodey and he mostly managed.

Before, while Rhodey was navigating into the room with his chair, Tony had grabbed a glass of water and actual Vicodin for Rhodey. Gratefully, Rhodey popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them down with the whole glass of water.

“I'm gonna be so stiff after this, Stank. And you claim to be an expert.” He muttered, mostly just teasing though it was true. Tony remained silent at that and when Rhodey turned to look at him he had a bit of a sour frown on his face. “I’m just messing with you, Tones.”

“Huh.” Tony replied, clearly still a bit offended.

“Come on, man. You know it's just my coping method. I really just want to sleep.” He was able to settle down into a supine position. Tony was wordless as he made his way over to the bed and sat down on the opposite side, on top of the covers. “I'm not gonna be good company. And you know I snore.”

Tony snorted just a little at that but otherwise remained taciturn.

The next day, with bright sunlight streaming into the room, Rhodey woke up with Tony’s arm around him and his face at the back of Rhodey’s neck. It was so comfortable he didn't question it for a few seconds before his brain caught up to him.  _ What the hell _ . He remembered working out too hard and when he tried to move a little he felt the resistance in his muscles from the workout. And then, heaven help him, Tony had helped him change. As far as that went, it was mostly minimally invasive. Still, it was embarrassing. Embarrassing that he, a grown-ass man, needed another grown-ass man to help him do basic things like change clothes. And he would need it for months and months. That was the worst. But there Tony was, in the bed, warm and close. And sure, Rhodey had shared a bed with Tony plenty of times but they usually maintained their boundaries; Tony didn't move much in his sleep so it couldn't have been an accident. Tony intentionally snuggled up that close to him?  _ Why? _

He was about to try and wriggle out of Tony’s grasp, as much as he could, when Tony’s soft voice danced into his hear. “Good morning.” He said and Rhodey could feel the movement at the back of his head; it almost tickled.

“Tony, why are you on me?” Rhodey asked. Not that he minded, but it seemed out of character.

“I'm not sure.” He replied and Rhodey was pretty sure he was lying but he was too groggy still to grill him about it. “I think you should get back to sleep. I'll get you some more water and then get back to the lab. You know how to reach me if you need me.” Then Tony was hoisting himself out of the bed. Rhodey was asleep before Tony came back with the glass of water refilled.

...

The fourth time, several days after Tony had overworked him, Tony had come to Rhodey asking him to “just try this, Rhodey, come on,” was the last straw. He’d let Tony get away with it because he loved him, even if he was this stupid but Rhodey had his pride too.

“Tony, you can’t just thrust your entire life into this. You have other things to do and I really don’t need you to be doing this  _ anyway _ . It’s kind of insulting.”

Tony opened his mouth to speak but Rhodey just held up a hand. “I’m not done. You have to understand, you have to know, that at a certain point there are just things I’m always going to have to deal with. I’m going to have chronic pain, I’m going to spend most of my time in a wheelchair, I’m going to have to take medicine, and I may have an abbreviated life. That doesn’t mean I can’t still be War Machine or do what I think is right, things are just going to be different. Okay?”

Tony had an odd look on his face and Rhodey figured he honestly needed some time to process his thoughts. Rhodey recognized that Tony had his own pain, mental and physical, as well as incredible guilt that kept him awake more often than not. And he was willing to give Tony as much time as he needed to work out how he was going to accommodate this new version of Rhodey, assimilate him into his life.

He was not, however, expecting it when Tony surged forward and grabbed Rhodey’s face into one single, desperate kiss that was no more than a hard press of lips to lips for a few seconds.

“What the hell?” Rhodey asked as Tony stepped back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I'm sorry.” He said, looking down, and it was hard to tell exactly what he was apologizing for. Maybe the kiss. Maybe being overbearing. Maybe everything? “I just want what's best for you. Or, I guess what I thought was best for you. I thought this would be what you wanted; to be private, just you and me, healing as quickly as possible. And, for the record,” he glanced up then, almost in defiance, “I do know what I'm doing. I just got a little...carried away. Because this is my fault and just one more thing I fucked up. I guess I thought I could fix it.”

“That sure was a lot of ‘I’ statements, Tony.” Rhodey pointed out.

“I...fuck. I'm not even sure what I'm trying to say, Rhodey…” Tony admitted. “I care about you and I want to take care of you. I'm not trying to embarrass you.”

Rhodey sighed, heavily. He knew Tony wasn't trying to embarrass him. He knew it was all for Rhodey’s benefit. He knew Tony cared. It just felt overwhelming. Claustrophobic.

“This feels like a cage, Tony. I've never minded living with you before but I feel like I'm under your thumb. I think I need to go back to Philly, see my family, my mom. And I’m not taking the leg braces.”

Tony nodded, not making eye contact now. “I understand.” He paused. “Can I at least take you there? And will you take the chair at least?”

“I might take the chair. But I think that it would be fine if you came. Mom probably would like to see you too. Maybe pull your ear a little bit. Especially after this last stunt.”

“Oh yeah. Really looking forward to that.” Tony muttered, finally looking up.

“What's that? You want to tell my mom why you hate her and that the Eagles suck?”

“James Rhodes, I said no such thing.” Tony’s face was severe. It was hilarious; Tony Stark, Iron Man, was deadly afraid of Roberta Rhodes. To be honest, though, Rhodey wasn't so sure he could escape an ear pulling himself, even in a wheelchair. He hadn't told her so it might be a surprise, or it could have been on the news. He wasn't sure; he hadn't charged his phone in weeks and he only watched TV Land if he was bored. Either way, Roberta was going to be pissed at him.

…

The flight to Philadelphia was longer than necessary and pretty quiet. Rhodey wanted to get wasted but refrained, instead watching Tony get drunker and drunker. One of them had to stay sober around his mother. And, if Rhodey was honest, Roberta was pretty used to Tony being drunk. He’d started the tradition of spending holidays and long parts of summer at their house, stealing the only liquor in the house and inevitably incurring Roberta’s wrath but continuing to do it anyway, when he was 15. Eventually, people gave up trying to stop him. Roberta still hadn’t really forgiven him for the cooking wine incident, either.

The house was small, a single story with a front porch and built straight back instead of side-to-side, like most houses. There wasn't much space between the houses, just enough to walk between them, and they all pretty much looked the same. It had been years since they had been there together and Tony confessed he didn't really remember which one was the Rhodes’ residence. The cabby finally stopped the car outside of a yellow house with weeds growing in the front yard and a porch that looked like it hadn't really been taken care of in a while.

“Is the chair gonna fit through the front door?” Tony asked.

“At this point, I'm more concerned about being let in the front door.”

“Did you not...tell her we were coming?” Tony looked a little appalled.

Rhodey shrugged. When he finally charged his phone, he saw his mother had called him ten times a day, leaving messages every time. She had heard about the fight on the news, didn't know how bad it was. He couldn't bring himself to call her.

“Come on. I can use the cane for a few minutes.” Rhodey said instead, using the cane to haul himself out of the cab. Tony grabbed the bags and had the CHAiR follow behind them, hovering. 

The few stairs up to the porch creaked as they climbed up it and before they could even ring the doorbell, Roberta was flinging open the door and yelling as she ran to Rhodey, embracing his and squeezing him and lecturing him.

“What's wrong, baby?” She said, pulling back and eyeing the cane.

“I had...an accident, Ma. I can't stand for a long time. Can we come in?”

Suddenly, her eyes were on Tony and Rhodey saw Tony shrink under her glare.

“What did you do to my baby boy?”

“Ma,” Rhodey cut in, bodily stepping between her and Tony, despite her being over 70. “I'm over 50 years old, I can make my own choices. It's not his fault.” He didn't want to see Tony’s face after saying that.

Roberta sighed. “Guess y'all’d better come in.” She stepped back and held the door open. CHAiR just managed to squeeze through, but once it did, Rhodey maneuvered into it.

“It was that fight at the airport!” Roberta shouted, lowering herself into a laz-e boy in the living room. The whole house had that smell...the smell of a very lived-in space inhabited by an elderly person who doesn't have the strength or energy to clean. Guilt twinged in Rhodey’s chest as he watched his mother lean back in the chair. He was going to have to find someone to help her clean up around the house. Tony, for his part, was gracious but Rhodey could tell he didn't really want to sit on the couch and immediately pulled his phone out, presumably looking for a hotel for them. Rhodey couldn't really blame him.

“I saw it on the news.” Roberta informed them. “A nasty situation.”

“Yeah, Ma.” Rhodey nodded. “We’re working on it.”

“Good. I hate to see you fighting with that Captain America lad.”

Rhodey practically felt Tony’s frown before he looked over and saw it.

“We don't really like fighting with him either.” Tony muttered.

“What's that, Anthony? You're gonna have to speak up, dear!” She said and when had she started to lose her hearing? Rhodey felt like the shittiest son in the world who didn't even take care of his own mother. Maybe he should move her to New York, or near the compound.

“I said ‘we don't like fighting with him either!’” Tony spoke up and for some reason, Rhodey found that hilarious. Domestic even. His mother, however, couldn't seem to figure out why Rhodey was laughing. He shrugged it off and wiped the smile off of his face.

“How long are you going to be staying?” Roberta changed the subject.

“A few days.” Rhodey didn't have concrete plans but he figured it would be a good opportunity to avoid Tony’s PT for a few days anyway. “Get a few things done around the house, just spend some time here.”

“Well, the guest bedroom…” She started but Tony cut her off, earning him a nasty glare from her.

“That's very generous of you, Mrs. Rhodes, but we actually already have a hotel. We didn't want to put you out.”

“Yeah, well, you could have called.” She muttered, but it was still loud enough for Rhodey and Tony to hear. “At least stay for dinner.” She insisted.

“Of course, Ma.”

…

Some days, Tony stayed at the hotel and Rhodey just sat with his mother, listening to her talk about politics and neighbors and the city itself. He asked her how she felt about letting someone come and clean the place up every now and then and Roberta wasn't opposed to the idea but she had pride so she didn't agree, exactly. He cooked a few times and took her out to eat a few times. And when Tony did come, he made Tony fix things here and there around the house. They had to go to the hardware store a few times and after the first two times the store employees got over the shock of seeing Iron Man and War Machine out in public, uncostumed.

“What if we hired a Stark Industries employee to take care of your mom’s place?” Tony introduced the idea on one of the drives back.

“Isn't that a conflict of interest or something?”

“Not really. I could find someone who already lives here, do all the background checks, keep them plugged in to Stark Tech so it's easy to communicate with them, easy to communicate with your mom. It would be for the sake of the Avengers.”

Rhodey gave him a dead stare. “There are no Avengers.”

“Yeah, well, we’re working on it.” Tony muttered. 

“Tony, do you ever think maybe it's time we got out of this business? Pass it on to the next generation. It's a young man’s game and, shit, Tony, we’re not young anymore.”

Tony was quiet for a minute. “I thought about it but what the fuck would I do? Once you get into the crime fighting business, can you really let it go? Can you pass an older lady getting robbed in the street and just shrug because you don't do that anymore?”

“I guess you're right.” Rhodey acquiesced. It had kind of wormed its way into his blood, got him itching to hop in the suit and punch the shit out of bad guys. “But do we really stay in the business until we die?”

“I don't know.” Tony’s eyes were tight and he looked like he had more to say but he didn't speak up.

Rhodey thought about Nick Fury. He was giving orders and wasn't really on the front line but even he wasn't safe from harm. Maybe he should have thought about it a little more before diving in after Tony, signing his own death certificate. 

…

The fifth day of being in Philly was a Saturday and Rhodey took Tony to see the “sights,” as it were. Mostly, people recognized them but didn’t really bother them. The went to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. And then he trekked them up the stairs in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, bypassing all the tourists trying to recreate Rocky. Mostly people averted their eyes because it was a pair of middle aged men with one leaning heavily on the other as they dragged themselves up the stairs, Rhodey needing to stop and catch his breath when they finally got to the top.

Rhodey actually had a membership and got them both discounts. Then, Tony got Rhodey a wheelchair and took the liberty of pushing the chair around, stopping it to read nearly every sign for each hanging piece of art, adding his own commentary. Tony might have been a genius but he had virtually no appreciation for art. At least not in the aesthetic sense. He was much more impressed with art that was a physical feat: a single piece of marble sculpted to appear as though it was a cloth draped over a grandfather clock, a ten-foot painting that actually managed to cohesively transmit a single image, or the Sistine Chapel. Textiles, small pots, and simplistic paintings held little interest for him. But his eyes seemed to light up when they stepped out into the sculpture garden.

There were huge physical rock pieces carved into chairs and steps and a huge thing that looked like an electric plug. He actually stopped pushing Rhodey around to take pictures with his phone. Of course, that had the added bonus of identifying the sculptures and storing them for further use by Tony, in case he found himself in need of pieces to decorate an outdoor space.

It was hot earlier in the day but by the time they got to the garden, the sun was starting to set and a breeze was rolling through, so they were happy to take their time, like the old men they felt like they were. Tony still had bruises on his face, yellowing as they started to fade. And Rhodey had them all over his body, nearly invisible. They were just tired and worn out and it wasn’t like Philly was a small city, a get away from New York, but it did feel like a vacation, a break from their real lives, from the Sokovia Accords, from the Avengers, from S.H.E.I.L.D. There was a sort of levity out there in the sculpture garden that Rhodey couldn’t really explain, couldn’t really capture, but Tony seemed to feel it too because he was slowing down the wheelchair, locking the wheels, and coming around to squat next to Rhodey.

“Let’s take a selfie.” Tony said, holding up his camera and leaning towards Rhodey.

Rhodey couldn’t take Tony seriously. Laughing, he asked “Really, man? You’re fifty years old and you’re telling me you want to take a ‘selfie.’”

“It’s really not that weird.” Tony gave him an incredulous look. “But I am too old to be sitting here squatted like this too long. When I stand up, everything is just going to be creaking. If I even  _ can _ get up.”

“Tony, you’re not  _ that  _ old.” Rhodey snorted. “Just take the damn picture.”

Tony huffed out a little laugh and leaned back over the arm of the chair to snap the picture. Then, as Rhodey was watching the screen of the phone, Tony leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. It was the second time Tony had kissed him, chaste as either kiss was, but even after that first one, Rhodey had known Tony’s intentions. Or, at least what he had hoped had been Tony’s intentions. But nothing had happened since Rhodey had decided to leave the base.

Rhodey’s heart was pounding, in that moment, and all he could see was Tony’s face, bruises and crows feet and all, because he had turned to look at Tony, not sure what to think. But he saw Tony’s eyes, saw them darting down to his lips and back up to his eyes and Rhodey knew he wanted to kiss him again; Rhodey wanted to let him. 

He leaned over, just a little, all it took, to let Tony know it was okay to kiss him. And Tony did. On the lips, just for a few seconds.

“Fuck, I gotta stand up.” Tony said, pulling back and then hauling himself up. Rhodey thought he might have heard Tony’s knees pop but he couldn't be certain. Then, with both hands braced on either arm of the chair, Tony leaned down and finally got to kiss Rhodey the way Rhodey suspected Tony had wanted to: lips parting and closing against each other, tongues slipping back and forth, and beard rubbing against cheeks and chins.

Rhodey had never really kissed a man before. He’d liked Tony for a long time and wound up not dating many people, devoting a large portion to Tony and Tony’s shenanigans. It just hadn't really...come up. But he found he wasn't opposed to it, even less so because it was  _ Tony _ , of all people in the world.

It was hard to tell how long the kiss lasted; they could just go on forever, or maybe only be a few seconds. But the separated, Rhodey’s lips tingling pleasantly in a way he hadn’t experienced in longer than he cared to admit. And he could definitely tell the kiss had him riled up a bit. Probably Tony as well and that's why he had to put a stop to it there. 

“Tony, I don't know...how far you were planning on taking this…”

Tony interrupted before Rhodey could finish.

“All the way.” He said, matter-of-factly, “As far as you’ll let me.” And he was still hovering, in Rhodey’s face, sharing his air.

“I'm willing to try, Tony. But not here. Not in Philly. Not in New York. I want to go home.”

Tony looked a little stricken, then, for how supposedly brilliant this philanthropist playboy was.

“If not Philly, Boston?”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “The only place we ever really lived together outside of school.”

“Los Angeles?” Tony’s voice rose, almost incredulous. Rhodey nodded. 

He’d only ever had the one house since he moved out there and it had been completely destroyed (by the Mandarin). But the two of them had spent so much time out there. Almost twenty years and it felt comfortable. After it was destroyed, Tony threw money at it to make sure it was constructed back almost exactly as it had been. But now it stood empty, a solemn reminder. But that was where they had to go. It couldn't be anywhere else. Not in a hotel room in Philly, not in an impersonal bed in the Avengers compound. It had to be at home, as difficult as that might be for both of them.

“I miss that place.” Tony admitted and stood back up. “I'll make it happen. It could probably use a little tidying up. Maybe a few personal touches.”

…

There weren't even sheets on any of the beds when they arrived at three in the morning. But it almost felt like home. But it was also just slightly  _ off _ , more like a dream than what he remembered. They made a quick trip out to get a few things to make the house more liveable and got some takeout from a 24-hour fast food place, since there was nothing in the refrigerator anyway. It wasn't  _ perfect _ , but it all felt like a close approximation. 

“Something is off.” Rhodey remarked, spinning in the living room area, not sure what was different. His legs didn’t allow him to stand much longer after all the climbing in and out of a car and walking around Walmart. He sank back into the couch.

“I never liked that wall…” Tony replied, gesturing in one direction and flopping down next to him. Rhodey couldn't be sure but he thought he knew which wall Tony was referring too. It did seem like a bigger space.

“Good choice.” He nodded, not really sure if it was.

“In a way, this was the best thing that could have happened. Gave me a chance to remodel.”

Rhodey knew Tony didn’t really mean it but it was just like Tony to find the humor in it. Rhodey also knew Tony missed Pepper a lot. Hell, Rhodey missed Pepper. And in a way, they would both love her forever. But Tony was never going to say that. Instead, he was going to stuff his face with French fries.

After a minute, Tony hooked the television back up. The rest of the house wasn’t on his grid with Friday because he hadn’t had the chance to program it since the house was destroyed; he really hadn’t been back there since before Ultron. And now here they were, watching something on the History Channel at almost 5 in the morning after several years of living on the east coast, exhausted beyond belief.

“Tony. We have to go to bed.” Rhodey slurred out, sleep compelling his eyes shut.

“You’re right. Can you walk or do you need the chair?”

“Chair.” Rhodey decided and Tony quickly set about helping him into it. They picked a room on the ground floor, not Tony’s old room but one that would be easy for Rhodey to get to and from, and hastily made the bed, sliding in in just their underwear. Rhodey was out within minutes.

…

Rhodey slept almost 12 hours, waking at 4 pm. Tony, of course, was nowhere to be seen. After brushing his teeth and checking to see how shitty he looked in the mirror, he got into his chair and went straight for the lab. Unsurprisingly, Tony was in there, covered in oil, blaring AC/DC and putting something together.

Rhodey went out on a limb and called out to Friday to the room at large. From above, the female voice responded to him.

“Yes sir?”

“Could you turn off the music?”

“Certainly.”

The music stopped and Tony craned his head to look over at Rhodey.

“You’re awake!”

“I’m awake.” Rhodey concurred. “Seems like you didn’t get much sleep though.”

Tony shrugged one shoulder and wiped sweat off his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

“We’ve gotta eat.”

“It’s a bit early, don’t you think?”

“We could use a shower, couldn’t we?” Tony smirked and Rhodey felt a flutter in his stomach at that, something he hadn’t felt in years. It was quite amazing.

“Are you suggesting…?” Rhodey couldn’t quite finish that sentence.

“If you want.” Tony shrugged again.

“Yeah, I think I could go for a shower.” Rhodey smirked, excitement coursing through him.

After a relaxing shared shower—a chaste one!—Rhodey laid down for a bit to get off his legs. Tony went to the kitchen after telling him he’d sent out for some food to cook. Rhodey’d had Tony’s cooking before so he trusted him a little bit and let himself nap for a while.

Dinner was good—salmon and fresh veggies paired with a sweet white wine. Rhodey was impressed and just a little warmly buzzed, just enough to feel nice.

“What now?” Rhodey asked when they had cleared away the plates.

“What do  _ you  _ want to do?” Tony asked and it was clearly an invitation for Rhodey to suggest anything he wanted. And Rhodey couldn’t stop thinking about kissing Tony, which he hadn’t done since they’d been in Philly.

“Can I kiss you?” Rhodey felt silly for asking but he had to be sure.

“I’d prefer it if you did.” Tony smiled and Rhodey’s hand reached out to the back of Tony’s head, pulling him close.

Tony’s mouth tasted like that wine, and he was happy about it. But it didn’t really matter so much as he got into the rhythm of their mouths opening and closing against each other, falling into a comfortable pattern. It was like they were made to be doing it, like they had missed out on decades of being able to do this. And it wasn’t long before Tony took control of the situation, hands going for Rhodey’s hips and backing him up against the kitchen counter. Rhodey could still tell that Tony, despite being somewhat aggressive, was trying to be gentle, holding back from rutting forcefully against him even though it was clear and the tight grip of his fingers and the way he was kissing that he really, really wanted to. 

Rhodey pulled away to speak for a second and he nearly laughed at the little sound Tony made at the separation.

“Bedroom?” Rhodey breathed, amused.

Tony nodded briefly before diving back in, taking Rhodey’s mouth again but steering him back towards the bedroom. He let Rhodey go again and they made haste to the room they’d shacked up in. He wasn’t wasting anytime and pushed Rhodey down onto the bed, his legs bent over the side. Without missing a beat, Tony straddled his hips to kiss him again. But he didn’t stay there long. He kissed his way down Rhodey’s jaw and his neck to his collarbone, pulling at the collar of his shirt. Then, he leaned back and pulled off his shirt and asked Rhodey to lift his arms so he could pull Rhodey’s shirt off too.

He took a second to examine Rhodey’s exposed chest.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this view.”

“I think I might.” Rhodey chuckled against the strain of the erection that was rubbing up against Tony’s through their pants. Tony rolled his hips against him and Rhodey couldn’t help the soft curse that came out then. He chuckled and went back to his kissing at Rhodey’s collarbone. It caused a twitching in Rhodey’s cock that Tony clearly felt when he let out a little chuckled.

“Like that?” he asked.

“Mhm.” was all Rhodey could get out.

He moved farther down, as far as he could, and got a hold of one nipple, licking and sucking at it. Rhodey had forgotten how much he liked that and his hand went for Tony’s head, encouraging him to continue. Finally, he let him up, but only to allow him to do the same to the other nipple.

Tony sat up after a while and Rhodey let him go, not sure what was going to happen next. He was a bit disappointed when Tony got up and moved away but then pleasantly surprised when Tony undid Rhodey’s pants and pulled them down and away. He stood for a second, thinking, then he climbed onto the bed, next to Rhodey.

“These knees are a little too old to be kneeling on hardwood.” he explained and then grabbed Rhodey’s dick with no other precursor.

“Holy fuck.” Rhodey hissed out at the touch, honestly having forgotten how nice it was to be touched by someone else. It just hadn’t been a priority for so long.

“I hope I can live up to the hype.” Tony smirked and then he was going down on Rhodey, taking his entire length into his mouth.

Rhodey hadn’t been deepthroated in a long time and the feeling of warm, wet muscles playing around his head was almost enough to get him to come quickly. Frankly, he was surprised he was able to get an erection at his age so easily but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse—or a gift Tony?—in the mouth.

It wasn’t long before he felt that familiar pull of orgasm, low in his gut and spreading out.

“Tony, I’m gonna…”

Tony pulled away, letting the head rest against his bottom lip. “Do it.” he whispered and that was enough for him to come down Tony’s throat with Tony swallowing all of it.

Then, Tony popped up and padded to the bathroom. Rhodey heard the faucet go and then Tony spit out.

“Is it that bad?” Rhodey called.

“Not especially.” Tony answered as he came back in, his erection obviously tenting the front of his pants. “Just don’t like to let the taste linger, you know?”

Rhodey nodded. “Can I…?” he was still feeling a bit shy and he was glad Tony understood what he meant even when shook his head.

“It’s a little weird but can I come on you?” 

“Like, on my face?” Rhodey asked, trying not to sound as horrified as he was.

“No, like chest or something.”

“Oh.” Rhodey thought about it for a second. “I don’t see why not. We’ll just have to take another shower.”

“Sounds good to me.” Tony smirked and pulled his cock free from his pants, shimming them down just enough to allow that and stood over Rhodey who was doing his best to look sexy and give Tony a reason to come.

“Come on!” Rhodey encouraged, rubbing at Tony’s thighs and he knew Tony was close when his eyes closed and his hand sped up. The warm liquid hit Rhodey right on his stomach where Tony was aiming and then Tony leaned down to kiss him, pressing their chests together.

“Thank you.” Tony said, finally, flopping over onto his back. “I’ve been thinking about this for so long.”

“You really probably should have...said something before I almost died.”

Tony’s mood shifted a little. “You’re right. I should have. But Rhodey?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

Holy fuck.

“I love you, too, Tony. Now, can we go shower?”

“Sure thing, boss man.”


End file.
